>>>>> "bv" == Bryan Vyhmeister <bsd@hub3.net> writes:

    bv> Microdrive ...  much heavier toll on battery life.

Yes, i think so.

There are some unintuitive results.  For example, we used to believe
the 340MB MicroDrive didn't work in some MobilePros because it needs
too much power to spin up.  This was a blind assumption that got
bandied about as fact for a while.  It turns out the MicroDrive uses
more power to read/write than it does to spin up.

Also, the power budgets in these machines vary dramatically.  Some
(like mine) have backlit screens that run for 1.5 - 5 hours depending
on the brightness setting, off a rather chunky LiIon battery, almost
like one of those Dell Everybooks with SpeedStep(r) Technology.
Others have reflective LCDs like a Newton or a celfone/keitai and run
NetBSD for a week off cheapass alkaline disposable batteries.  If
you're in the one-week crowd your ideas about power consumption must
be totally different.

What REALLY eats battery like a mofo is 802.11b cards.

-- 
Computer games don't affect kids, I mean if Pacman affected us as
kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching pills and
listening to repetitive music.
		-- Marcus Brigstocke